AFReG Devotional—7 June 2023

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God
who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.”—Deuteronomy 7:9  

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful. He cannot deny Himself.”—2 Timothy 2:13

“For I am the Lord, I do not change.”—Malachi 3:6a

Human beings have some fundamental questions about God: Who is He? What kind of a God is He, and what is He like? The Bible reveals over a hundred of His attributes and characteristics. Some of these attributes are communicable, meaning we can share in them as redeemed beings. For instance, we can love, be just, be creative, sow mercy and goodness, but only to a limited degree. Others are incommunicable (His omniscience, omnipresence, sovereignty, transcendence, immutability, and self-existence). They cannot be shared because they belong to God and Him alone. In this area, He is unique, one of a kind, unlike any other, and without comparison.

From the start, it is also important to mention that all His attributes are not isolated but are interlinked and interconnected perfect parts of His whole being that work together; the one is possible because of the others. Faithfulness is our topic in this devotion, and we shall link it to His immutability.

God’s faithfulness is His reliability and dependability, essential to His divine character.

This means that He never forgets anything, He never fails to do anything He sets out to do, and He never changes His mind about His purposes. Paul says, “All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

He will transform situations to conform to His will because He has perfect knowledge and a complete view of events before and after they occur. Because He is unchangeable, His plans never change, He does not blow hot and cold, and He does not get better or worse. His plans remain the same and cannot be altered. His will may be resisted but ultimately must be fulfilled.

In a world full of sorrow and pain, the fact that His promises cannot change ought to be a source of incredible joy for us as believers.

One writer says this about His immutability and dependability,

“Therefore, our trust in Him is confident, for we know He will not, indeed cannot, change. His purposes are unfailing, His promises unassailable.”

Because the God who promised us eternal life is immutable, we may rest assured that nothing, not trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, shall separate us from the love of Christ.

Because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever that neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not even powers, height, depth, not anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39; Hebrews 13:5-8).

Our God is unchangeable, unshakeable, and unstoppable. Nothing is impossible for Him. He is a God of miracles; He is mighty and strong, faithful and true, and He fights for His people still today. Our partial view of reality causes us to doubt His love and ability and to question His involvement in our affairs. If He is who His Word says He is, why all the suffering and chaos? Sometimes our struggles are so long and hard that we cannot discern His presence. Be assured that His promise never to leave nor forsake us is never more certain than precisely at these times.

As we labor for Christ in witness and toil, we must know that our labors are not in vain. His promises are Yea and Amen! (2 Corinthians 1:30). There will be fruit from our labors. Our prayers are secure in His hands and, in their time, will be answered.

Our turn to be remembered will come, and angels will be dispatched with assignments to aid us (Cornelius in Acts 10; Rev. 6:9-11, 8:3-5). He fulfills His promises. He finishes what He begins (Philippians 1:5, 6). Sometimes there are long delays, but you can be guaranteed He will deliver. He can be trusted to keep His promises.

My mind gravitates toward the failed truces in the Syrian, Ukrainian, and Sudanese conflicts. Even before the ink is dry on the agreements, the fighting, which never stops, resumes with greater intensity. I think of failed promises between spouses, parents and children, employer and employee, government and people, and between nations. No wonder we have become so skeptical of any promise.

Our view of God has been tainted by our experiences, driving us squarely into the enemy’s plans to drive a wedge between us and our Source as he did with Mother Eve.

Be assured today that God is not withholding any good thing from us (Psalm 84:11) and that, to the contrary, He did not spare anything but has given us all things in Christ (Romans 8:32) and all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

As we close, listen to these promises:

“The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you.” In a world where we can’t always depend on guarantees, that is one promise we can trust.
—Deuteronomy 31:8

“Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for
He who promised is faithful.”
—Hebrews 10:23

In a world where we can’t always depend on guarantees and promises made, we can stand on the guarantee of His Word because His faithfulness is absolutely trustworthy.